Article carrier

ABSTRACT

An article carrier of the so-called basket type having bottom, side and end walls secured medially thereof to riser panels which in turn are connected with medial handle structure is provided with two rows of article receiving cells on each side of the handle, the cells being defined by spaced transverse partition strips connected with each side wall and the handle structure together with a longitudinal partition strip struck from each transverse partition strip and foldably joined thereto and to the adjacent end wall together with a longitudinal partition panel secured between each of the transverse partition strips substantially mid-way between each side wall and the handle structure by means of anchoring flaps foldably joined to the longitudinal partition panels and secured in face contacting relation with one of the transverse partition strips. Web structure interconnects the bottom edge of each end wall panel while web structure interconnects the bottom edge of each end wall panel at the other end of the carrier and the lower end of the riser panels at the opposite end of the carrier in order to strengthen the bottom wall thereby to enhance the overall strength and stability of the carrier.

United States Patent [191 Stout Jan.8, 1974 ARTICLE CARRIER [75] Inventor: James T. Stout, Doraville, Ga.

[52] U.S. Cl. 220/113, 220/115, 229/28 BC [51] Int. Cl B65d 73/00 [58] Field of Search 220/111, 112, 113,

220/115; 229/28 BC, 52 BC [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 10/1955 Hasselhoff 220/113 10/1956 DeMaria 220/113 9/1959 Kates 220/115 Primary Examiner-Herbert F. Ross Assistant ExaminerStephen P. Garbe Attorney-Walter M. Rodgers [57] ABSTRACT An article carrier of the so-called basket type having bottom, side and end walls secured medially thereof to riser panels which in turn are connected with medial handle structure is provided with two rows of article receiving cells on each side of the handle, the cells being defined by spaced transverse partition strips connected with each side wall and the handle structure together with a longitudinal partition strip struck from each transverse partition strip and foldably joined thereto and to the adjacent end wall together with a longitudinal partition panel secured between each of the transverse partition strips substantially mid-way between each side wall and the handle structure by means of anchoring flaps foldably joined to the longitudinal partition panels and secured in face contacting relation with one of the transverse partition strips. Web structure interconnects the bottom edge of each end wall panel while web structure interconnects the bottom edge of each end wall panel at the other end of the carrier and the lower end of the riser panels at the opposite end of the carrier in order to strengthen the bottom wall thereby to enhance the overall strength and stability of the carrier.

7 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures PATENTED JAN 8 4 SHEET 1 0F 3 Fig. 2

PATENTED JAN 8 74 SHEET 2 OF 3 FlCi. 4

PATENIED 81974 3.784.053

SHEET 3 OF 3 Fig. 7

ARTICLE CARRIER The current trend toward packaging greater and greater numbers of primary packages in basket-style carriers has resulted in the development of basket-style carriers capable of packaging eight, ten, and twelve primary packages in two rows with one row being disposed on either side of the handle. There is a practical limit however to the extent to which basket-style carriers may be made longer.

According to this invention a basket-style carrier is provided wherein two rows of article receiving cells are provided on each side of and parallel to the medial handle. This is accomplished by constructing transverse partition strips on each side of the handle of sufficient length to accommodate two cells and by interconnecting each transverse partition strip with a longitudinal partition strip which extends to the adjacent end wall and is foldably joined thereto. In order to provide a pair of cells between the transverse partition strips, a longitudinal partition panel is interposed therebetween and secured at its ends to the transverse partition strips.

For a better understanding of the invention reference may be had to the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a set-up carrier formed according to this invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a unitary blank from which the carrier of FIG. 1 is formed;

FIGS. 3, 4, 5, and 6 represent sequential steps through which the blank is glued and manipulated in order to form the complete carrier in collapsed form and which is shown complete in FIG. 6 except for the last or bottom folding operation; and in which FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line designated 7--7 in FIG. 1.

- In the drawings and with particular reference to FIG. 2, the numeral 1 designates one side wall of the carrier to the bottom edge 2 of which a glue flap 3 is foldably joined. End wall panel 4 is foldably joined along fold line 5 to one end edge of side wall 1 while end wall panel 6 is foldably joined along fold line 7 to the opposite end edge of side wall 1. Web structure generally designated by the numeral 8 interconnects the bottom edge of end wall panel 4 and the end edge of glue flap 3 and comprises a triangular web panel 9 foldably joined to glue flap 3 along fold line 10 and foldably joined to triangular web panel 11 along fold line 12. Triangular web panel 1 l is foldably joined to quadrilateral web panel 13 along fold line 14 and to the bottom edge of end wall panel 4 along fold line 15. Riser panel 16 is foldably joined along fold line 17 to the medial or inner edge of end wall panel 4.

At the other end of the carrier web structure generally designated by the numeral 18 interconnects the bottom edge of end wall panel 16 with the bottom edge of riser panel 19 which panel is foldably joined to end wall panel 6 along the fold line 20. Web structure 18 comprises a triangular web panel 21 foldably joined to the bottom edge of end wall panel 6 along fold line 22 and which is interconnected along a fold line 23 to an edge of triangular web panel 24 which in turn is connected along fold line 25 with web panel 26. Web panel 26 is interconnected with the bottom edge 27 of riser panel 19 by means of triangular web panel 28 which is foldably joined to web panel 26 along fold line 29 and to the bottom edge of riser panel 19 along fold line 27.

Handle panel 30 is foldably joined to riser panel 16 along fold line 17 and is foldably joined at its top edge along fold lines 31 and 32 to handle panel 33.

At the other end of the carrier, handle panel 34 is foldably joined to riser panel 19 along fold line 20 and to handle panel 35 along medial fold line 36a.

Partition structure on one side of the handle comprises transverse partition strip 36 which is foldably joined to side wall 1 along fold line 37 and to end wall panel 4 along fold line 38 together with longitudinal partition strip 39 which is foldably joined to transverse partition strip 36 along fold line 40 and to end wall panel 4 along fold line 41. As is apparent in FIG. 2, Iongitudinal partition strip 39 in effect is struck from transverse partition strip 36 and is separated therefrom by the cut line 42 and from end wall panel 4 by the cut line 43. Cut line 42 also separates handle panel 30 from end wall panel 4.

At the other end of the carrier transverse partitio strip 44 is foldably joined to side wall 1 along fold line 45 and to end wall panel 6 along a fold line 46. Longitudinal partition strip 47 in effect is struck from transverse partition strip 44 and is foldably joined thereto along fold line 48 and to end wall panel 6 along fold line 49. A slit 50 separates transverse partition strip 44 from longitudinal partition strip 47 and a slit 51 separates longitudinal partition strip 47 from end wall 6. Slit 50 also separates handle panel 34 from end wall panel 6.

Longitudinal partition structure on one side of the handle comprises longitudinal partition panel 52 which is foldably joined along fold line 53 with anchoring flap 54 and which in turn is foldably joined along fold line 55 with anchoring flap 56. Anchoring flap 56 is foldably joined along fold line 57 with the top edge of transverse partition strip 44.

On the other side of the carrier, riser panel 58 is foldably joined along fold line 59 with handle panel 33 and with end wall panel 60. Side wall 61 is foldably joined along fold line 62 to end wall panel 60 at one end and at the other end side wall 61 is foldably joined along fold line 63 to end wall panel 64. Riser panel 65 is foldably joined along fold line 66 to end wall panel 64 and to the end edge of handle panel 35. Bottom wall panel 67 is foldably joined to the bottom edge of side wall 61 along a fold line 68 and is provided with a medial fold line 69 at one end of which a locking notch 70 of conventional construction is provided.

The partition structure between side wall 61 and the handle is similar to that described between the side wall 1 and the handle. For example, transverse partition strip 71 is foldably joined to side wall 61 along a fold line 72 and to end wall panel 60 along a fold line 73. Longitudinal partition strip 74 is in effect struck from transverse partition strip 71 and is foldably joined thereto along fold line 75. Longitudinal partition strip 74 is foldably joined to end wall panel 60 along fold line 76 and is separated from transverse partition strip 71 by slit 77 and from end wall panel 60 by slit 78. Slit 77 also separates handle panel 31 from end wall panel 60.

Transverse partition strip 79 is foldably joined to side wall 61 along fold line 80 and to end wall panel 64 along fold line 81. Longitudinal partition strip 82 is foldably joined to transverse partition strip 79 along fold line 83 and to the end wall panel 64 along fold line 84. Longitudinal partition strip 82 is separated from end wall panel 6 by a slit 85 and from transverse partition strip 79 by a slit 86 which also separates handle panel 35 from end wall panel 64.

The longitudinal partition structure associated with transverse partition strips 71 and 79 comprises longitudinal partition panel 87 which is foldably joined along fold line 88 with anchoring flap 89 at one end and at the other end longitudinal partition strip 87 is foldably joined along fold line 90 to anchoringflap 91 which in turn is foldably joined to the top edge of transverse partition strip 79 along fold line 92.

For cooperating with the locking notch 70, a pair of locking hooks 93 and 93a are formed at the bottom ends of riser panels 58 and 16 respectively. For interconnecting one end edge of the bottom panel 67 with the bottom edge of end wall panel 60, web structure generally designated by the numeral 94 is provided. This structure includes a triangular web panel 95 which is foldably joined along fold line 96 to the bottom edge of end wall panel 60 and which is foldably joined along foldline 97 to triangular web panel 98. Web panel 98 is foldably joined along fold line 99 to narrow triangular web panel 100 which in turn is foldably joined along fold line 101 to web panel 102 which in turn is foldably joined along fold line 103 to the end edge of bottom wall panel 67.

At the other end of the carrier web structure generally designated by the numeral 104 interconnects the bottom end 105 of riser panel 65 with the bottom edge 106 of end wall panel 64. This web structure comprises a web panel 107 foldably joined along fold line 106 to the bottom edge of end wall panel 64 and foldably joined along the fold line 1070 to the web panel 108 which in turn is foldably joined along fold line 109 with quadrilateral web panel 110 which in turn is foldably joined along fold line 111 with small triangular web panel 112. Triangular web panel 112 is foldably joined along fold line 105 to the bottom edge of riser panel 65.

A reinforcing auxiliary panel 113 is struck from handle panel 33 and is foldably joined thereto along bottom fold line 114 and serves as a bracing element to i provide added strength medially'of the carrier and to aid in separating the middle cell on one side of the bandle from the corresponding cell on the other side of the handle.

In order to' form the carrier, an application of glueis made to handle panel 33 and to auxiliary panel 1 13 as indicated by stippling in FIG. 2 and auxiliary panel 113 is folded upwardly and toward the left along the fold line 114 to occupy the position shown in FIG. 3 wherein the auxiliary panel 113 is shown adhered to the bottom edge of handle panel 33. An application of glue is also made to the anchoring flap 91 and its associated transverse partition strip 79 as indicated by stippling in FIG. 2 and anchoring flap 91 together with longitudinal partition panel 87 and anchoring flap 89 are elevated and folded toward the left along fold line 92 to cause anchoring flap 91 to adhere to transverse partition strip a 79. Anchoring flaps 89 and 91 together with longitudinal partition panel 87 then appear as shown in FIG. 3 with anchoring flap 91 secured in face contacting relation with one end of transverse partition strip 79. In similar fashion an application of glue is made to anchoring flap 56 and to one end of transverse partition strip 44 as indicated by stippling in FIG. 2. Following this application of glue, anchoring flap 56, longitudinal partition panel 52 and anchoring flap 54 are elevated and folded toward the right along the fold line 57 to cause anchoring flap S6 to adhere to one end of transverse partition strip 44. The blank then appears as shown in FIG. 3.

The blank of FIG. 3 is then given an application of glue as indicated by stippling on riser panels 58 and 16, handle panels 33 and 30, transverse partition strips 71 and 36, anchoring flaps 89 and 54 as well as the interior of handle panels 35 and 34. In addition web panels 102 and 9 and their associated bottom panels 67 and 3 are given an application of glue. Following this application of glue, end wall panels and 4 are elevated and folded forwardly and downwardly along their respective fold lines 62 and 5. Simultaneously web structure 94 and 8 folds along fold line 103 and 10 respectively. This operation causes transverse partition strips 71 and 36 to hinge about the fold lines 72 and 37 respectively and causes the transverse partition strips 71 and 36 to become adhered at their outer ends to anchoring flaps 89 and 54 respectively. Of course web panels 102 and 9 become adhered to bottom panels 67 and 3 respectively while riser panels 58 and 16 become adhered to the interior surfaces of handle panels 33 and 30 respectively. Simultaneously the outer or bottom underneath surfaces of handle panels 33 and 30 become adhered to the interior surfaces of handle panels 35 and 34 respectively and the blank then appears as shown in FIG. 4.

An application of glue is then made to the riser panels and 19 and to the handle panels 33 and 30 as well as to web panels 108, 110, 24 and 26 as indicated by stippling in FIG. 4. Riser panels 65 and 19 are then elevated and folded upwardly and forwardly along fold lines 66 and 20 respectively which folding operation is accompanied by similar folding of web panels and 26 along their associated fold lines 109 and 25 respectively to cause the web panels 110 and 26 to become adhered to web panels 108 and 24 respectively. Following this folding operation the blank appears as shown in FIG. 5.

An application of glue is then made to the riser panels 58, 16, 65, and 19 and to the interior of handle panels 33 and 30 as indicated by stippling in FIG. 5. There- .after side wall 1 and all parts of the blank disposed to the right of medial fold lines 31, 32 and 36a are elevated and folded toward the left to occupy the position depicted in FIG. 6. This operation causes the riser panel 16 to become adhered to riser panel 58 and also causes riser panel 19 to become adhered to riser panel 65. The interior of handle panels 30 and 33 also become adhered thereby causing the handle aperture 30a struck from handle panel 30 and the handle aperture 113a defined by auxiliary panel 113 to coincide substantially.

In order to complete the carrier as shown in FIG. 6

. it is simply necessary to fold the lefthand portion of the bottom panel 67 upwardly and toward the right along the fold line 69 after an application of glue is made to the lefthand edge of bottom panel 67 and to the bottom edge of glue flap 3. This operation causes the lefthand locking notch 70 and the carrier is maintained in an erect condition as shown in FIG. 1.

The view of the bottom as shown in FIG. 7 shows the quadrilateral web panel 13 overlying the web panels 9 and 11 and also shows the triangular web panels 95 and 98 overlying the web panels 100 and 102. Web panel 100 simply serves to facilitate manipulation of the various panels from a carton collapsed condition to a setup condition. These web structures serve to reinforce the bottom and aid substantially in carrying the weight of the packaged articles. Web panel 26, being interconnected with the bottom edge of riser panel 19 and through the triangular web panel 29 also serves to take a significant portion of the weight and transfers this weight through the riser panel 19 to the handle while web panel 21 overlies its associated web panel 24 and serves to interconnect the bottom edge of end wall panel 6 with the bottom of the riser panel 19 and through the web panels 24, 26 and 28 as described and adds significantly in reinforcing the bottom. Web panels 110 and 107 correspond with web panels 26 and 21 and a detailed description thereof is not deemed necessary.

From the above description it is apparent that a basket-style carrier is provided by this invention wherein two rows of article receiving cells are formed on each side of the handle. Furthermore it is apparent that the carrier is economical in construction since a blank such as FIG. 2 can be nested into an adjacent blank by aligning the riser panels 58 and 16 with the corresponding riser panels 65 and 19 of the adjacent blank.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. An article carrier comprising a bottom wall, opposed side walls joined to said bottom wall along opposite side edges thereof, end wall panels joined at the ends of said side walls and extending transversely inward therefrom, riser panels joined at the inwardly extending edges of said end wall panels and extending medially inward of the carrier, a multiple-ply handle secured at its ends to the riser panels at the ends of the carrier, a pair of spaced apart transverse partition strips foldably joined at their outer ends to a part of each side wall on each side of said handle and the strips of each pair of transverse partition strips on each side of said handle being joined to said handle at their inner ends, and a longitudinal partition strip foldably joined at its inner end to each of said transverse partition strips and to one of said end walls at its outer end to form a pair of transversely aligned cells at each end of the carrier and on each side of said handle.

2. A carrier according to claim 1 wherein each of said longitudinal partition strips is generally parallel to and substantially mid-way between said handle and one of said side walls.

3. A carrier according to claim 1 wherein each of said longitudinal partition strips is struck from its associated transverse partition strip.

4. A carrier according to claim 1 wherein a longitudinal partition panel is interposed between the transverse partition strips of each pair of transverse partition strips and wherein an anchoring flap is joined to each end of each of said longitudinal partition panels and secured in flat face contacting relation with the associated transverse partition strip.

5. A carrier according to claim 4 wherein one anchoring flap on each side .of said handle is foldably adjoined along its top edge to the top edge of the associated transverse partition strip.

6. A carrier according to claim 5 wherein said one anchoring flap on each side of said handle is interposed between said handle and the associated longitudinal partition panel.

7. A carrier according to claim 1 wherein said bottom wall is interconnected with at least one end wall panel 'by foldable web structure. 

1. An article carrier comprising a bottom wall, opposed side walls joined to said bottom wall along opposite side edges thereof, end wall panels joined at the ends of said side walls and extending transversely inward therefrom, riser panels joined at the inwardly extending edges of said end wall panels and extending medially inward of the carrier, a multiple-ply handle secured at its ends to the riser panels at the ends of the carrier, a pair of spaced apart transverse partition strips foldably joined at their outer ends to a part of each side wall on each side of said handle and the strips of each pair of transverse partition strips on each side of said handle being joined to said handle at their inner ends, and a longitudinal partition strip foldably joined at its inner end to each of said transverse partition strips and to one of said end walls at its outer end to form a pair of transversely aligned cells at each end of the carrier and on each side of said handle.
 2. A carrier according to claim 1 wherein each of said longitudinal partition strips is generally parallel to and substantially mid-way between said handle and one of said side walls.
 3. A carrier according to claim 1 wherein each of said longitudinal partition strips is struck from its associated transverse partition strip.
 4. A carrier according to claim 1 wherein a longitudinal partition panel is interposed between the transverse partition strips of each pair of transverse partition strips and wherein an anchoring flap is joined to each end of each of said longitudinal partition panels and secured in flat face contacting relation with the associated transverse partition strip.
 5. A carrier according to claim 4 wherein one anchoring flap on each side of said handle is foldably adjoined along its top edge to the top edge of the associated transverse partition strip.
 6. A carrier according to claim 5 wherein said one anchoring flap on each side of said handle is interposed between said handle and the associated longitudinal partition panel.
 7. A carrier according to claim 1 wherein said bottom wall is interconnected with at least one end wall panel by foldable web structure. 